The Destiny Games
by KayLiii
Summary: Mr Tiny sets up the destiny games and two are chosen from the vampire clan to compete. My first fanfic.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Legends have stated that vampires were bloodthirsty creatures, who'd suck a victim dry of blood, thus turning them into a vampire as well. Legends also claim a vampire can be killed with a stake, will die from holy water, will weaken from garlic and will perish in sunlight.

In reality, vampires only sip a small amount before sealing up the cut. They can be killed by a stake, as will a human if the stake was sharp enough. They will weaken from exposure to sunlight, but only after a couple of hours.

I was blooded when I was 12. It's been 2 years now since I met my mentor, Darius Pierce. You see, my mum passed away when I was a baby, and my dad died 2 weeks after my 10th birthday. He had a sudden stroke and the doctor's couldn't save him.

Ever since then, I've stayed with my aunt in the countryside. She was a witch. For the first week, she was sympathetic but after all my relatives checked on me and made sure I was in good hands, she showed he true colours. She would force me to do all the chores and would threaten to raise a hand to me if I didn't obey her. She wanted my father's money. It was awful.

One day, I was walking to the village school when I saw a man by the river. He was writhing in pain. When I ran to him, I saw his right ankle was bruised and throbbing. I ran to the nearest store and bought a pack of ice for his ankle.

As I ran back to him, he noticed me but just stared at me calmly, waiting to see what I would do. I put the pack of ice on his ankle and told him to sit still, and it would heal. Then, without waiting for his answer, I stood up, grab my bag and ran to school.

That's when we met for the first time. Later, I found him hiding at the back of the house, waiting for me to appear. He had dark brown hair, piercing blue eyes and was dressed completely in green. He had various scars on his face, but I didn't ask why until later.

"I never really got to thank you for what you did," he said, "Darius. Darius Pierce. And you?"

"I'm KayLi Powell." I muttered.

"Pleasure to meet you, KayLi Powell," he said, and the next time I looked, he was gone.

That was the first time I had met him. Later on, we would meet in the meadows near my aunt's house and talk. Over the years, we grew closer. He was like a second father to me. He even told me how he was a vampire and about his life as a vampire. He made me feel safe.

4 months later, he told me he was leaving. He asked me if I wanted to join him. He put it gently at first, then explained to me what would happen and how it would be like. I sat there for a long time, thinking, and weighing out the pros and cons as he watched me. In the end, I decided to join him. He blooded me. It was a bit painful but I was alright later. Then, I got on his back as he flitted into the night.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1-Meeting**

*2 years later*

As months dragged by we approached Vampire Mountain. Darius led me to a secret passageway. (I had taken to calling him Mr. Pierce at the start but he insisted I called him Darius) There, a guard was stationed outside the entryway. Darius walked on, confidently, with me by his side. At the gate, the guard stopped us. "Halt! State your name and business here."

Darius said," I, Darius Pierce, has come to seek council." then motioned for me to say it.

"I, KayLi Powell, have come to seek council."

"Darius Pierce is recognized by the gate but KayLi Powell is not", the guard said, and I started to panic. What if they left me out here alone?

Then, Darius spoke up. "KayLi is my protégé. I vouch for her."

The guard grunted and replied "Very well then. Darius Pierce and KayLi Powell are recognized by the gate. Fare well." And let us through.

We had come to Vampire Mountain as Darius wished to see his friends again. It had taken us months to reach, and the going was tough. But alas, we were here now. Darius left me at the Halls Of Khledon Lurt after fetching me some food. I refused the bat broth and settled for bread and water. As I sat there at a table alone, a boy about my age plopped himself on the seat across from me. "Hey, the name's Darren Shan. Haven't seen you around before, are you new?" he said, while grabbing a piece of bread from the basket. Shocked at his sudden outburst, I mumbled "Yeah, I'm KayLi. I just got here." Into my piece of bread.

Darren studied me curiously as I stared back at him. He had dark hair, and was dressed completely in blue. He had a triangular scar under one of his eyes, and I wondered how he could have looked so serious and solemn at such a young age. Suddenly, he laughed out loud. " I haven't seen many female vampires since Arra," he chortled " I bet lots of vampires will be after you."

"What does that mean?" I started asking him curiously, when I was interrupted by the doors opening again. This time, Darius and another vampire entered the room. The other vampire had cropped, orange hair, with a scar running down the left side of his face. He was dressed completely in red. ( What was it with vampires dressing completely in a certain colour?)

Darius led the other vampire to where me and Darren were sitting. "Ah! Sire, I see you have met KayLi already." Darius said to Darren. Sire? Meanwhile, the other vampire was studying me with cool, calm eyes. "So this is your assistant, Darius? She could not have been older than Darren was when I blooded him. Thankfully, young half-vampires are not such a serious matter nowadays." Darius laughed "Nay, I refuse to call her my assistant, like you do, Larten. This is my protégé. Speaking of introductions, KayLi, this is Larten Crepsley. You've met his assistant and a Prince, Darren."

I nodded wordlessly. The red-clad vampire, Larten Crepsley, was staring at me intensely. I was starting to grow uncomfortable. Suddenly, a guard opened the door, yelled;" Destiny is here!" to the vampires in the room and ran out again. Everyone in the room tensed and started to leave urgently. "What's wrong?" I asked Darius, "Why is everyone so tense?"

"Ah, young one," Darius began to stand up uneasily, followed by Darren and Mr. Crepsley. " It is not the time to explain now. Just know, who you are about to meet is a dangerous man. He-"

"Enough explaining, Darius. We should leave for the Hall of Princes immediately. Who knows what someone like Mr. Tiny has planned." Darius was cut short by Mr. Crepsley. Wordlessly, Darius nodded, running a hand through his hair. He locked eyes with me, beckoning me to follow him. I stood and walked a little behind Darius as Mr. Crepsley and Darren led the way.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2- News **

When we approached the Hall of Princes, Darren ran to the thrones while me, Mr. Crepsley and Darius stood at the back of the room, with me in the middle. The attention was clearly on the man sitting on a throne at the front. He looked out of place. He had short white hair, wore thick glasses, a bright yellow suit and green wellington boots.

When the room was so packed that I didn't think even a mouse could creep in, the man, I assumed he was Mr. Tiny, stood up and smiled wickedly.

'Hello hello, vampires. How are you faring lately?" he started, with a silly grin on his face. Most of the vampires in the room just stared stony faced at the man, waiting for him to continue. "Anyway, I've been thinking, not much excitement have been happening recently. So I've invented **"The Destiny Games",** "he grinned. " The Destiny Games is where 2 competitors are chosen from various….races… and will have to survive through the 14-days ordeal. In this case, it wouldn't be fair to leave you vampires out of it, so yes, two of you are going in the Games." He smiled widely. "And those two would be… is eyes scanned around the room, and seemed to settle on me. No, he couldn't be…..

KayLi Powell….."

My heart skipped a beat when I heard that. Darius had warned me Mr. Tiny was a dangerous man. I was in such a state of shock I didn't hear the name he called next. I just stood there, oblivious to the world around me, when Darius gently squeezed my shoulder, bringing me back to reality. "Are you alright?" I realized Darren had joined us too, and was staring at me anxiously. I smiled weakly. "I'll be fine. So who's my partner?" Darius made a face then, and this time, I was even more shocked when he said " Your partner will be Larten."

I looked at Mr. Crepsley. He had sat himself on one of the rows, and was thinking deeply. When he saw I was alert, he stood up and walked over to us, cursing. He looked at me "Mr. Tiny had this planned. He would not have known you were coming. You have not even connected with the Stone of Blood yet. The question is, why you and me?"

Darius was worried too. He frowned, trying to put all this together. "Why-" he managed to choke out. "Alas, we do not know, Darius." Mr. Crepsley said softly, eyes full of remorse. Another vampire walked up to us. He was old, and dresses completely in red too. ""Come, Larten, Darius, bring your protégés and we'll go to the Hall Of Khledon Lurt. You need a drink." Numb, we all walked slowly back, the old vampire supporting Mr. Crepsley at the front, and me, Darren and Darius at the back.

We all crowded around a table. The new vampire-Seba Niles, poured drinks for us all. He introduced himself to me "You must be KayLi. I am Seba Niles, the quartermaster." "It's a pleasure to meet you." I mumbled back to him.

After long hours of listening to the vampires discuss what Mr. Tiny must be plotting, I started to doze off. Mr. Crepsley noticed me. " Darius, you should find KayLi a room. She has had a rough day." Darius nodded. "Come," Seba said. "If it's alright," I said shyly, "could I not have a room to myself? I'd feel more comfortable with someone else." At that, Seba scratched his head. "That would be tough, young one, as you are a female." A long, uncomfortable silence ensued, and I was close to tears at staying in a room alone, when Darius cut in. "Well, I'm staying with Larten, but I suppose it could do no harm if you stayed with us. You are my protégé, after all." I looked anxiously at Mr. Crepsley, awaiting his response. He scratched his scar and said " It will be fine. If you are not content with staying on your own, I suppose you could sleep with us. It is a big room, after all." He grinned sheepishly, the first time I've seen him smile.

Seba stood up. " Come then," offering his hand to me. Yawning, I gladly accepted his hand. We bid goodnight to Darren, who was going back to the Hall of Princes to discuss the matter further with the other Princes. Seba led us to a room. As we approached, 2 vampires came out after setting down another coffin, bidding us goodnight. With that, we said goodbye to Seba and I laid down in my new coffin, to an uneasy sleep.

**-I originally wanted Mr. Crepsley & KayLi to meet when Mr Tiny chose them to do the Games, but for some reason I changed it. Anyway, hope you'll enjoy it!-**


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3- Adjustment**

When I woke up the next morning, Darius was still asleep but Mr. Crepsley was already up. He was shaving. He grunted "Morning." I rubbed my eyes and said good morning to him. I sat on top of my coffin waiting for Darius to wake up. A while later, Darius woke up. He yawned and stretched, wished us both good morning, and jumped out of his coffin. I was going to leave them to talk while I went to breakfast when Darius stopped me. "Just a minute, KayLi. We got to make a quick stop somewhere first."

Sometime later, Darius was ready to take me wherever he was going to bring me. Mr. Crepsley left for the Halls Of Khledon Lurt . Darius led me around the tunnels and finally we stopped in front of a big, wooden door. Darius opened it, and I saw it was full of clothes. Darius looked around the room and finally settled his gaze on me. "Most of these clothes may be a bit big but there should be something here. You should change out of your old clothes. You can even get a cape if you like." Darius winked, picked out a green cloak for himself and swung it over him. "I'll be waiting for you outside."

When he was gone, I looked around the room. After maybe 15 minutes, I picked out a red polo, dark red knee length shorts and a red cape. When I left the room, Darius was leaning on the wall waiting. When he saw my all red attire, he groaned. " You look SOOO much like Larten right now, but red IS your favourite colour. So…" he smiled weakly " Come on then. Let's go eat."

In the Halls Of Khledon Lurt, Mr. Creplsey,Seba and Darren were waiting at a table. Me and Darius joined them." Before anyone says anything, KayLi didn't copy you. Red is her favourite colour." Dariuslaughed as he sat down. Darren raised an eyebrow when he saw my attire but said nothing. Seba laughed. "What a sight we must look now! One dressed completely in blue, one in green and three of us dressed completely in red." Even Mr. Crepsley had to smile at that.

Later, Darren was explaining to us what they have discussed in the Hall of Princes last night. According to him, Mr. Tiny had told them what would happen if they refused to partake. Mr. Tiny said the winners of the game would be safe, whilst the losers would lose their most important treasure. Mr. Crepsley cursed again. " What would be so important to us anyway?" Darren, with a grim face, replied.

" If we lose, we lose the Stone of Blood."

**Sorry this was a short one, and sorry the games haven't started yet. I seriously like wearing red in real life. In fact, as I'm typing this I'm wearing a red polo, red Bermudas, a red watch and red socks. xD**


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4- Preparation**

Mr. Tiny had said the Games would begin in a week. Since we've lagged behind, we've only 6 days left to train. After eating breakfast, Mr. Crepsley told everyone else he wished to train me. The others nodded and we left them discussing the games.

Mr. Crepsley brought me to one of the sport Halls. There was a one-eyed vampire there, who came to greet us when we entered the room. "Larten! And this must be your partner, KayLi. Nice to meet you, my names Vanez Blane." He smiled at me. I smiled back, nodding at him. "Nice to meet you too, sir."

Mr. Crepsley coughed. "If I may, Vanez, I was wondering if I could use the hall to train KayLi. I'm sure Darius had taught her a thing or two over the years, but I prefer to see where she stands." With that, Mr. Crepsley tuned to me. "KayLi, first things first. How much do you know about fighting?" "Well," I replied " Darius taught me how to use a knife, but I'd much prefer a sword. Darius said we'd try me out with a sword when we reached Vampire Mountain, as swords were hard to come by in the city."

Mr. Crepsley led me to a wall, where loads of weapons were hanging from. Maces, swords, knives, spears and a variety of other weapons. There weren't any throwing weapons, as Darius had once told me vampires preferred hand-to-hand combat. "Pick out a couple of knives and a sword you like the feel of." I looked quickly around the pile, and grabbed two knives and a cutlass I liked the feel of. Then, I walked to the centre of the hall, where Mr. Crepsley and Vanez were waiting. "Now, go easy on her, Larten. You don't know where she stands yet. You might harm her." Vanez warned worriedly. "I will." Mr. Crepsley grunted.

I used the knives first. Cautiously, I faced him, eyes peeled for any sudden movement. Then, Mr. Crepsley aimed for my left arm. I blocked it. We moved faster after that. He nicked me a couple of times, but they weren't fatal, so I battled on. Mr. Crepsley was fast. I only managed to hit him a couple of times.

Finally, after some time, he stopped. He lowered his knives and led me to benches. I was panting heavily. "Well, you are nimble, anyway. You are a left hander, it seems, which is good as it is easier to use both hands if one were to be injured. You tend to forget about your waist-down, leaving it open to attacks, but overall, you will do." He grunted. "Now, if you are fully rested, we shall teach you how to use the sword. You might not have enough time to fully master it, but you should at least know the basics. Who knows what Mr. Tiny might pull. Heck, he might not even give us any weapons at all."

Mr. Crepsley taught me how to hold the sword, and swing it to parry the enemy. We practiced that for a while, then he let me rest. After the short break, Vanez taught me how to flip the sword out of the enemy's hands. He taught me to keep the sword to my chest whenever I was blocking myself, as it would be harder for the enemy to flip the sword out of my hands.

After grueling hours of training, I was so tired I fell on the floor. There I lay, staring at the ceiling, as I heard Mr. Crepsley and Vanez chuckle. "The young one is tired. She has worked hard today." I heard Vanez say. I then heard Mr. Crepsley reply in a soft tone, "I will carry her back to the room. I do not think she can walk all the way." I felt someone's hands slide under me and lift me up. The one carrying me-Mr. Crepsley- bid Vanez good night and I felt him carrying me to the room. When we got to the room, Mr. Crepsley quickly removed one hand to open the door, then steadied me with both hands again. I heard him kick open the lid of the coffin with a grunt, and gently place me inside. As he was putting the lid back on, I managed to mutter "Thank you…" to him. He heard me and chuckled softly, wishing me good night as well. Then, the coffin lid closed completely on me, and all was darkness.

**So…it's still training I'm afraid. You might have to wait a while. I'm updating every day because I have loads of fresh ideas and I'm on holidays. Just wait till school starts again. ._.**


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5- Opening**

A week had passed since Mr. Tiny chose me and Mr. Crepsley to be part of The Destiny Games. A few days ago, had appeared in my dreams and Mr. Crepsley's too, apparently, to tell us he would be at Vampire Mountain to transport us to our destination, wherever it might be.

Over the week, me and Mr. Crepsley had grown closer together. Darius, Darren and Seba were there to support us a lot. Darius taught me a few of his special moves with a sword. Finally, the day of the Games arrived. Around noon, me and Mr. Crepsley were waiting at the Hall of Princes, along with the other vampires who'd come to wish us luck. A few minutes later, we heard a booming "Hello! Hello!" as a General led Mr. Tiny in, followed by two short beings with their hoods up ( according to Darius, they were Little People).

Mr. Tiny sat on one of the thrones, putting his feet up, smiling broadly. As we were standing at the front row, I got to see him more clearly. He was short, and he was fingering something, which looked like an organ. On closer examination, the heart (I figured out what the organ was!) had a face, where you could tell the time. A heart shaped watch?

Mr. Tiny smiled at the huge crowd. "Now, where are my competitors? Ah, here you are." His gaze lingered on each one of us in the front row, Darius, me, Mr. Crepsley, Seba, Darren, and Vanez. "How have you been coping with the news? Games, challenges, killing, ah what fun!" Mr. Tiny sang. " Just send us on our way, Desmond. You would do well not to mess with me now." Mr. Creplsey growled. " You ruin my fun," Mr. Tiny complained. "But firstly, here are the rules. You are only allowed two weapons each. I'll reveal the rest later, where everyone is gathered, but you shall choose or leave your weapons now."

I decided on my sword, and a knife, just in case. Mr. Crepsley stuck with two long knives. Mr. Tiny opened a portal and beamed at us. I locked eyes with my mentor, Darius, who was staring at me worriedly. Wordlessly, he grabbed me into a hug. "Promise me you'll look after yourself and come back alive." I could feel his voice shaking a bit. I hugged him back. Stared into his eyes one final time, and turned to where Mr. Crepsley was waiting and stepped into the portal.

When we came out of the portal, it vanished into thin air. We were met with a mob of other….creatures. Mr. Tiny's voice boomed around the room. " Welcome, one and all, to the Destiny Games!"Every head in the room turned to the centre, where I saw Mr. Tiny standing on a podium. "Are you ready to stay alive?" he beamed. Outside these walls, there are unthinkable dangers. You will not be doing the killing, though it would be a good idea to…." He stopped to think " Anyway, I have sent loads of surprises for you all. Your aim is to stay alive for 2 weeks. And don't think you can stay in a safe place the whole 2 weeks, I'll be monitoring you and you wouldn't want, oh, say, to be up in a tree to avoid the beasts which might not be able to climb the tree and get swooped away, by, a pterodactyl maybe?" he giggled.

" You will stay here overnight, to get to know your competitors. Then, bright and early tomorrow, you'll be kicked out to survive!" he smiled widely. " Now, enjoy the feast!" with a click of his fingers, we heard something bang on the floor behind us. We turned around and a table of food was sitting there. When we turned back around, Mr. Tiny had disappeared.

"Well,"Mr. Crepsley said as he walked to a corner, with me behind him, " We should best get to meet some of our competitors. Who knows, one of them might save our lives." With that, Mr. Crepsley was up and about. Last time I saw him, he was hooked up in conversation with a snake lady. Who knew he could actually have charm!

I went to the wall and leaned there, surveying the room. " Hey there" a voice said near me. I turned and was met with a boy, about 16, grinning at me. " So what are you supposed to be?" he said. I just stared at him incredulously. "Oh, sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Nick. Nick Tempest, budding magician." He winked at me. "KayLi Powell, half vampire. " I replied. He had dark hair, and bright green eyes. He was dressed in a black long-sleeved shirt and jeans. Mr. Crepsley caught my eye, smiled mildly and continued mingling with other people.

"Well, KayLi, would you like a drink?" Nick laughed. He held his hand out to me, and I took it cautiously. The food was safe to eat and drink, surprisingly. I spent some time talking to him, finding out about each other. When it was time to sleep, Mr. Crepsley walked up to me. " We should get some rest now, tomorrow will be a big day." I bid goodnight to Nick and me and Mr. Crepsley went to a corner. Do you know how I fell asleep? I slept with my head on Mr. Crepsley's chest. I was so tired I just fell on him. He didn't shift his position. He just slept in that position, uncomfortable as it may have been for him.

**So, whatcha think? =) Should Nick be my love interest? Or a betrayer maybe….. xD I just read book8 and I, like Darren write "me" instead of "I". =D**


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6- A Different Perspective**

Mr. Crepsley's .View (otherwise known as POV)

When I woke up, I was aching all over. KayLi was still sleeping, her head resting on my chest. She had been too tired last night, and I did not have the heart to wake her up by moving. As I scratched my scar, KayLi began to wake up. "Morning," I greeted her as I stood up to stretch my legs. It was still pretty early, and not many of our competitors were up yet. As I made my third round around the room, KayLi walked next to me. I slowed down my pace for her to catch up.

KayLi was nervous, you could not see it unless you knew what to look for but she was. I was never good at comforting people, but I was all KayLi had in this competition. "You know, we will get through this." Was all I said to her, indirectly. As she stared at me, surprised at my warmth, I blushed (so slightly you would never have known I was doing so!) and continued walking as though I never said anything at all.

Later in the day, Mr. Tiny appeared again. "Ready to go? Here are your maps" he said as Little People gave out maps to everyone. "Well, 3, 2, 1…" next thing we knew, the floor below us catapulted us into the air through the room ( it was hollow) and we ended up outside the stadium.

As everyone else was still dazed and confused, I picked KayLi up and flitted. Best to get a start. I flitted us as far as we could. When I saw a spot to my liking, I made sure there was nothing dangerous. Just to be safe, I told KayLi to get up in a tree. When she was safely up, I jumped up next to her and opened the map Mr. Tiny handed out. It was in four colours, red, blue, brown and white. As we pondered over the map, KayLi jumped up another branch to look over the horizon. What she saw must have been serious, because not a minute later, she called to me. "Hey, Mr. Crepsley…..i think you should take a look at this."

Curious, I leapt on a higher branch, as I was worried the branch KayLi was standing on might not take my weight. What I saw, was east from where I was standing, was a land seemingly filled with fire. A wall of fire was surrounding it, making it impossible to see through. To the west, was a huge ocean. To the north, I could only make out clouds. As to where we were, the south…it hit me. The map had four colours, red, blue, white and brown. Red was the fire zone, blue was the water zone, white was the clouds, and brown was where we were, earth.

Suddenly, the earth beneath us began to shake, like an earthquake, KayLi almost lost her balance. I leapt down and steadied her. Good thing I did too, as when the earthquake stopped, the ground below us had split apart, leaving a huge crack. As we stared into the crack, monsters began to crawl out. They looked like they were made out of mud, and had uncountable amount of arms. I cracked a branch, used my knife to cut it into a sharp stake, and aimed it at one of the…mud monsters. When the stake cut clean through the mud monster and it regenerated, I knew this battle would have to be postponed.

I grabbed KayLi and flitted once again, this time to the north, where the clouds were. It seemed the safest place right now.

**This time, I tried it in Mr. Crepsley's perspective. As you can see, Mr. Crepsley doesn't bother with exact conversations. **


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7- Teamwork**

Mr. Crepsley led us to a field of clouds. I couldn't make out anything, all I saw was clouds. Mr. Crepsley must have been tired; he had already flitted 3 times within the last few hours. He was panting heavily. Darius had flitted with me a few times, but never so many at once.

"Mr. Crepsley? Will you be alright?" I asked, concerned. He was the only one I had here in the Games, and Darius once said to me, everyone had to look out for each other. Mr. Crepsley, hands on his knees, wheezed: "Yes, I'll be…okay….just give me a minute…" I crouched down next to him and waited, watching out for any intruding threats. A while later, Mr. Crepsley sat down too. He seemed to be okay, just worn out.

Knowing Mr. Tiny, nowhere in this barren land was safe. I wondered where the other competitors were. As we were sitting there, a few balloons began falling from the sky. One of them, a red one, fell towards us. Warily, we watched it until it reached the ground, and lay there. At the end of the string of the balloon was a folded up piece of paper. Mr. Crepsley pulled the balloon towards him, and untied the paper from the balloon.

He passed the paper to me, and told me to read it out loud. I wondered why he didn't simply just read the paper, considering he got to it first. Then I remembered: Most vampires were illiterate! I unfolded the paper and read it quickly. Then, I read it aloud to Mr. Crepsley.

"Hello, dear friends. In case you already haven't guessed, this is your gracious host, Mr. Tiny speaking here," I could already hear his voice droning in my ears, his evil smile. "After watching you all in this barren land, alone, separated, I had a change of heart. If you look at your maps again, you will see that it has changed a bit. Well, it's had more land added to it. There is a castle in the south east. I have a surprise for you all there. Well, I'll be awaiting your replies. Good luck!"

I laid down the piece of paper as Mr. Crepsley pondered over the message. "Mr. Crepsley, Mr. Tiny said the map…..?" I interrupted his train of thoughts. "Oh, of course." Mr. Crepsley said, back to reality, as he fumbled for the map. He took it out, unfolded it and laid it in front of us. The map was certainly bigger now, with an outer exterior. As Mr. Tiny said, there was a miniature drawing of a castle in the south east. It was the kind you'd expect to see in a horror movie, like Dracula's castle.

Mr. Crepsley was frowning, muttering to himself as he looked at the map. Finally, he lifted his gaze at me. "Do you think we should go?" I asked. "I am not sure yet," he sighed, folding the map back up. "I am positive we will have more breakthroughs there, but I am sure Mr. Tiny had set something up. Also, the other teams will probably be there too." He put the map back into his pocket. "But we have to survive for 2 weeks here, right? We can't just sit here and hide away. We'll have no food, and like Mr. Tiny said, he'll set something after us."

Mr. Crepsley ran a hand through his hair, thinking. After a few minutes, he made his decision. "Fine, we will go." He said, as he took the map back out again. " East is the land of fire, it seems, but if we follow back south and only go east when we have gotten past the ring of fire, we should approach the castle." I pondered over the map. "But will you have enough energy to flit?" I asked, eyes on the map. "Nay, I will not flit. We will walk, as the others will be doing. But firstly, we should get some rest." He said, as he leaned back. I agreed, and we stared at the sky, savouring the time now, preparing for what dangers we might face later.

**School's going to restart after this weekend, but don't give up on me yet! I won't be able to update every day, as I'm beginning to have writer's block as well, but I won't abandon the story =)**


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8- Reunion**

After a few hours of rest, we set off. I began to get nervous as we neared the southern part. We proceeded cautiously, ready for any sudden attacks. On we trekked, Mr. Crepsley in the front, me following behind. The road was rocky and dusty. It reminded me of Green Day's Boulevard of Broken Dreams, and I started singing it softly to myself.

"I walk a lonely road,

The only one that I have ever known;

Don't know where it goes

But it's only me to me and I walk alone…."

Unfortunately, I forgot Mr. Crepsley had better hearing than a normal human did. "What was that song?" he asked curiously. "Oh, it was nothing." I muttered, blushing. Crap! He heard me!

"Go on, I would like to hear the rest of it." Mr. Crepsley broke the silence. "Nah, I shouldn't….." "Come on, it is not often I get to hear singing, unless you mean when the other vampires go and get themselves drunk." He smiled wryly. "In fact, I remember once when Darren got drunk. He was singing all night long. He was so-"Mr. Crepsley was cut short when we heard a rustle in the bushes.

"Quick! Behind me!" Mr. Crepsley said, serious again. I drew out my sword and stood behind him, back to back, waiting for the unexpected. When whatever it was started coming out, Mr. Crepsley shot a knife at him/her/it, just narrowly missing. "Whoa, whoa there!" a voice said, laughing uneasily. It sounded familiar. I peeked out behind Mr. Crepsley. It was Nick! Behind him was another boy, about his age as well, following, ready to back him up if needed. The other boy was slim, but his hair was completely white. Other than that, he looked pretty normal.

Nick came out, grinning when he saw it was us. He dusted himself off. His friend followed, watching us cautiously. Nick laughed, and introduced us. "Max, this is KayLi. KayLi, this is Maximillian Armstrong." His friend groaned. "Max. Just call me Max," he corrected me. "And is this your dad, KayLi?" Nick asked. "Oh, no, he isn't. He's just a friend of my mentor." I said, blushing. What would Mr. Crepsley think? To my surprise, Mr. Crepsley laughed. "No, my name is Larten Crepsley. Pleased to be of assistance. KayLi is not my daughter. She is the protégé of a close friend of mine." He smiled.

Nick was confused. Back in his world, everybody was either wizards or mages. They didn't have special mentors, they just attended a wizarding school. "So, if you're going to Mr. Tiny's "party", you can explain to me on the way," Nick grinned at me. So we continued our journey. I still walked alongside Mr. Crepsley, even if Nick walked on the other side of me. I told him about my life, and how I got turned into a half-vampire. Mr. Crepsley listened intently too. My past was news to him.

As the sun began to set, we began to near the end of the rocky roads. Mr. Crepsley stopped. "This is where we go east," he said, as he jumped up on a tree to scan the horizon. Nick and his friend checked their maps and agreed. They had used magic to add some stuff to the map. For example, it was 3- dimensional. You could also see the weather in every part of the map (even though they were mostly the same).

We trudged on. Nick and his friend Max had brought heavy staffs for their weapon. It would work better magic than a wand, and could be morphed into a weapon if needed. As the sun sank lower, it also began to get hotter as we neared the fire zone. The earth was hot, and without shoes, we were pretty bad. I heard Mr. Crepsley mutter:" This is worse than the Hall of Flames."

We took off our capes. Nick performed a quick spell to minimize our capes. If we folded it four times, it would minimize enough to be fit into our pockets. If we unfolded it, it'd go back to its normal size. "We do that with our bags." Nick grinned. We thanked him and walked on.

A while later, we found ourselves walking past a wall of flames. It was hot, but according to Mr. Crepsley as he looked at it close up, we could go through the wall without much damage, it was what was awaiting us inside. And knowing Mr. Tiny, we would have to go in there sooner or later.

**Sorry, I'm breaking off here because I'm beginning to get writer's block, and I have school soon. I won't be able to update much then, maybe once or twice a week. =/**

**Thanks for all the reviews!**

**dragon1226 Well, Harkat….hm…..i don't really know. =) And thanks for the advice I'll keep that in mind.**

**DarkAngel1443 I got the inspiration from Hunger Games, but I completely forgot it was separated like a clock. That part was my idea.**


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9- Party**

When we arrived at the castle, the sun was almost setting. The castle looked abandoned, haunted, you get the picture. It had ivy and thorns growing from the walls. No moat though. It had large wooden doors. Mr. Crepsley was leading and he opened the doors. It was dark inside, but we could still see a bit.

We walked in cautiously. There didn't seem to be a trap. Suddenly, the room began to light up. Looking around, there were candles hanging on the walls and were lighting up by themselves. I didn't think much of it. It was Mr. Tiny, after all. When the whole room lighted up completely, I managed to see the room we were in. It was huge, bigger than a football field would be. It was quiet. We continued walking to the centre of the room. As we got closer, we saw there was a hole at the centre of the room. It was a staircase which led downwards.

"Alright, I will go first, then KayLi, Nick, and Max." Mr. Crepsley said, brisk and gentlemanly to the end. He picked up a candle from the wall and made his way down, a knife in his right hand. And the rest of us followed. I wielded my sword too, just in case. After a while, I felt my foot hit solid ground. Mr. Crepsley waved the candle around the room as Nick and Max descended down the stairs and joined us. It was really narrow, like a hallway, and there was a doorway at the end. It was wide open.

When we went in, we were met with the other competitors. This room was lighted brightly, and it seemed they were just sitting there, waiting. The room setting was one of a kitchen. A great one, I must say. The sort you see in an IKEA catalog. There was a fridge at one corner, and on it were lots of colourful magnets, and one lone note.

"So, if you're reading this note you must be here already. Alright, alright, I am having a party, of course. But I've been monitoring all of you and you've all decided to come! Isn't that fun? So we must be courteous, and wait for every guest, shall we? There's food in the refrigerator, if you're hungry or thirsty. Then, when everyone's here, the fun will start!

~Mr. Tiny. "

"What does it say?" Mr. Crepsley asked urgently. I read it aloud to all of them.

"Wait a minute," Nick said, as he did a quick head count. There are 13 of us here. But we set off in twos. So…who's missing?" The snake lady looked up, hearing our conversation, and walked over to us. "Nice to see you again, Fleur." Mr. Crepsley greeted her as she approached us. So she had a French name…?

"I overheard you talking, and…if you would like to know who's missing….." she began, her voice soft and sad. "….it's the person I came with. My father" She managed to choke out, as tears started rolling down her cheeks.

We all tried to comfort her. Apparently, they had been to the fire zone, which was all we were able to coax out of her. She burst into tears as she revived the dreadful memories. As we comforted her, two more people came in. They saw the note, read it, and went to a corner to talk about something. They both looked like sprites.

Out of curiosity, I opened up the fridge. There was food I recognized, but some I didn't. I grabbed some bottles of water, enough for all of us, and went back to our little group. I handed everyone their water, and opened mine up. I didn't realize how thirsty I was until I began drinking. Within seconds, I have gotten through half the 500 milliliter bottle. Apparently the others were too, as Mr. Crepsley drank up the whole bottle. I offered him mine, and he drank another quart before he stopped. He returned my bottle, muttering a quiet thanks.

It was getting late, and I leaned on the wall next to Mr. Crepsley. "Well, I want to take a nap. Wake me up if anything happens." The others nodded. I began to slowly fall asleep next to Mr. Crepsley, after a while, I felt him gently shift himself nearer to me, to let me lean against him. I said a soft thanks to him, drifting softly into dreams.

**I am SORRY I haven't been updating…. School and all, lots of things going on. This chapter is short, a bit like the calm before the storm. I'm still pretty busy, but I couldn't let the story die so I've spent my Friday night typing this.**

**P.S- I am 14, so no, I am not spending my Friday night horribly, like those without a date. Just saying =)**


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10- Fire**

**Fleur's P.O.V**

My heart beat wildly as I remembered the horrible memories. After Mr. Tiny had started the games, my father and I had edged off to the East. We had not looked at the map, a move I severely regret when I think back about it. If we had…..

Father and I ran blindly, aiming only to get as far away from everyone as possible. I did notice the red haired man I met last night, Larten Crepsley, had grabbed a young girl dressed completely in red like him and disappeared, but I had no time to ponder over that. On we ran, non stop, for what seemed like hours. Father might have been getting old, but he was still as energetic and strong as I remembered him as a child.

At this thought, memories of my childhood came back:

I was 6 years old. My mother had passed away a long time ago. In the evenings, we would go to a secret place only me and my father knew of. We would lie on the grass, and stare up at the stars, and he would teach me astrology. Sometimes, father talked about mother. He did then, but what he talked about really stuck to me.

"I remember when I first met your mother. She was still young, a fine girl of 19 summers. She was helping her mother wash laundry in the river. I even remember what she was wearing then. It was a beautiful pink dress, sweet and sensible, with roses on the hem of the skirt. Her mother had left her for a while, when a rough brute came up to her and started sweet talking her. She ignored him, but he would not be ignored. He tried to drag her up, but she resisted, and that's when they both fell into the river. It was about as deep as my thigh, around your neck, young one!" he chuckled as he ruffled my hair. I pretended to pout but was enjoying it.

" What did you do then, father?" He had a dreamy look in his eyes as he fell back into the memory. " Then, i ran to your mother's side and helped her up. Apparently, the brute couldn't swim. It wouldn't have been right to just leave him there, so I hoisted him up as well. He ran off, and that was the last I saw of him. Your mother never thanked me, but we were friends from that moment on." He smiled and turned to face me, gently stroking my head. "You're the joy in my life, Fleur, because without you, I would have nothing to live for. You look so much like your mother…."

Sometimes, we would sleep in the fields, and that was what we did that night. My father hummed me a lullaby as I fell asleep. There were no words, it was just a soft, beautiful melody.

At that, I was jolted back to what happened in the East. As we ran, we slowed down to a walk. The farther we went, the hotter it seemed to become. We assumed it was just the afternoon sun, and took no notice of it. Eventually, we came to a ring of fire. There was a corner with only a small flame, an inviting opening. If we had only tried to go around it, but the wall of fire seemed endless, so we just went through the opening.

Immediately, we felt a change in atmosphere. Small flames licked our hard soles. Surprisingly, there was no smoke. We wielded our weapons. My father had a mace, and I had a bow my father crafted for me when I reached the age of 16. As we had not met any monsters, we were unprepared when monsters…no other word for them, surrounded us. We quickly discovered neither my arrows nor a close range weapon could harm these monsters. Father protected me, as we slowly walked backwards. We were nearing the other end of the ring now.

Suddenly, father pushed me backwards through the wall. It was hot, but not as hot as I expected, and I quickly ended up at the other side. My last image of my father was of the monsters pouncing on him as he screamed. I was in shock…..and as I stood there, numb, I saw the castle. I walked slowly towards it, still in shock, but I knew for sure my father was gone.

"Would you like some water?" a voice brought me back from the memories. I looked up, KayLi, Larten's accomplice, was holding out a bottle of water towards me. I took it, nodding my head in gratitude. We sat in silence for some time. KayLi broke the silence. "Well, I want to take a nap. Wake me up if anything happens." Everyone nodded, and she settled herself with her back to the wall. After a while, Larten gently shifted himself next to KayLi, and laid KayLi's head on his broad shoulders. KayLi murmured a thanks to him, and Larten smiled softly as he looked down at her.

Thanks **Darren-Shan-Fan-012345678910 **for the idea! =) Sorry I'm taking so long, and exams are coming up, so that's another 2 weeks going by. Sit tight, okay?


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11- Helloes**

**Mr. Crepsley's P.O.V**

KayLi had fallen asleep by my side. As she slept, we continued talking in low voices so as not to wake her. As I watched her sleeping soundly, I felt…..something. As I tried to recall where I felt that feeling before, it struck me. I had a soft spot for the girl. I know she was not my apprentice, and she was far from my daughter, but I loved her like the daughter I never had. I felt guilty for Darius that he could not be by his apprentice's side, and I missed Seba a bit too. Heck, at this point, I even missed Darren, that little brat of a Prince.

I sighed, remembering past memories with Darren and Seba. I thought about how worried I was when Darren had to endure the Trials, and I was sure Darius was feeling the same way about KayLi right now too. I would get KayLi back to Darius, no matter what. We are going to win this thing and go back to Vampire Mountain-

"Larten?" A voice called my name. It was Fleur. She seemed to be recovering, it was a bit of a shock whenever someone close to you died-

"Larten? What do you think?" I turned to the boy sitting on the right of me, with dark hair and brilliant green eyes, Nick Tempest, the boy KayLi met.

"I apologize, what were you saying?" I had been so absorbed in my memories I had tuned out of the talk.

"We were wondering about teaming up, the 5 of us. " Me, Max, Fleur, you and KayLi." He grinned. His grin looked a bit like Dennis Quaid's, that man from the movie about the world becoming Ice Age III,"The Day After Tomorrow". Darren had wanted to watch it, but he still looked young, so I had to accompany him, as it was a PG-18 film.

Teaming up, eh? I considered this. They all seemed trustworthy, and if I was to get KayLi back safe and sound to Darius, I might need all the help I can get.

"Alright, it is decided then. We shall join forces." I reached my decision.

"Cool." Nick grinned, and turned back to the conversation, as I drifted back into my memories…..

A while later, I think the final pair walked in. A few feet in, and a bell rang loudly as the lighting turned red, like in an emergency room. Everyone leapt to their feet, weapons out. KayLi had woken up by then, and thankfully was not feeling too groggy considering she just had a deep sleep.

Mr. Tiny walked in. He was clearly proud of the commotion he caused, and the attention we were all paying him.

"Weapons down, no need to salute me by standing up when I enter the room." He chuckled to himself. His laugh was never pleasant, it was as if he had practiced evil laughs in the mirror…

"So you're all here! Well, except John….he glanced apologetically at Fleur. John must have been the father." So 19 of you are here! Enough for a merry party, I daresay! Before we get the…festivities going," to this he smiled wickedly, "Let me tell you what you're expecting. First, each pair must go through a door, Fleur has to do her journey alone, I'm afraid. So as I was saying, each one of you and your partner will be going through specially assigned doors I've chosen for each of you, and you'll find a surprise on the other side. With that cleared up, enjoy the party! It's outside this door." he smiled as he walked out, leaving us in silence.

"Well, guess this means we can't team up after all," Nick grumbled. KayLi glanced curiously at what he meant, but I told her I would explain to her later.

"Right now, is to join the other room, as Mr. Tiny said. After the….party, then we will part ways. Come on." I led them out the room. KayLi fell in step beside me. "What did Nick mean earlier?"

"Oh, we thought it would be a good idea if Nick, Max, Fleur, you and me teamed up. Have each other's backs, get out of this safely." I smiled softly at her. I should not tell her I would get her out at all costs, she would not have let me risk my life for her. "Oh….." KayLi mouthed as she took it all in, "I guess if we meet again afterwards, we could team up with them then. IF." She returned my smile uneasily. "No, when we meet them again. We will get out of this, trust me." I smiled, putting a hand on her shoulder, assuring her we would be okay.

When we left the room, we had followed the recently lit trail of lights into a passage I had not noticed earlier. Eventually, we got to a much larger room. Mr. Tiny was already sitting at an end of the table, knife and fork poised, ready to eat. He gestured to his side. I sat down on his right, KayLi on the other side of me. When everyone was seated, Little People brought out the food.

We all sat there eyeing the food, when Mr. Tiny grabbed some chicken drumsticks and took a huge bite out of each one, grinning at us. "Come on, eat up, I wont poison you, why would I want to do that? Where would the fun be?" he said. "Here, have some lamb, Fleur. If I can eat it, so can all of you." With that, we all took some food cautiously and ate. Mr. Tiny did have a point. He would not have enjoyed quick, painless deaths. He was a dramatic man indeed.

The next day, when we were all rested, he led us wordlessly to a glowing portal awaiting. I noticed the portals changed colour every time a pair walked through. Nick had gone through a while earlier, and had said a hasty goodbye as he walked through bravely. I think KayLi like him. I chuckled quietly to myself, wondering how Darius would react if KayLi and Nick got together. Soon, it was our turn. The portal was red. "I noticed you two like red." Mr. Tiny grinned. "Alright then, off you go!" he said in a sing song tune. KayLi slipped her hand cautiously into mine. I gripped it, smiling at her. I was smiling a lot more now. "Come on, then!" I said as I led her into the portal.

Mr. Crepsley's POV again. =) I thought you guys might get tired in my perspective. ^.^

Hey, if you guys got any ideas, don't hesitate to tell me, okay? Currently, I'm lost what would happen IF they got back and found Nick and the others again. How would the monsters be like? Where would they go? Alright, I'll stop here first then!


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

We stepped through our portal, Mr. Crepsley and me. When I woke up from my nap, I found that I've been sleeping on Mr. Crepsley's arm and as he massaged it, I apologized frantically. He comforted me that it was okay, and I could sleep by his side all I wanted. Has something gotten over to him? He seemed different….

Mr. Tiny led us down to a grand ballroom. Instead of a dim lighting, this room had dozens of lamps on the walls. Big as the room was, though, there was only a long table in the centre of the room. Mr. Tiny gestured to us to sit on his right, and we did so. After a short moment of cautiousness, Mr. Tiny ate the food himself to show us it wasn't poisoned or anything. Sitting on Mr. Crepsley's right was a BAD idea. Me being a left hander, our elbows kept knocking.

Mr. Tiny had let us through a red portal, and as he said, he noticed the both of us liked red. When we entered the portal, the sensation was as if we were being sucked into a whirlpool. I kept my hand around Mr. Crepsley's the whole time. We ended up standing on a carpet in someone's home, dizzy, but standing. I still had not let go of Mr. Crepsley's hand. As my head cleared and I looked around the room, it began to look more and more familiar…

I gasped loudly as I took in my surroundings. It couldn't be…

"What is it? What is wrong?" Mr. Crepsley was staring at me urgently, alert to my gasp.

"It's….nothing…..it's just…." Tears filled my eyes slowly.

"KayLi?" Mr. Crepsley kneeled down to face me. "KayLi, are you alright? Do you know where we are?" He asked me in a soft tone.

"We're…..at my house. Before my parent's di-di-died." I stuttered.

Mr. Crepsley understood the situation immediately, and sat down, gently pulling me down with him. When I was the same level with him, he pulled me close in a hug. I sobbed as I remembered my father and mother. I don't remember how long we sat there. Mr. Crepsley would stare blankly into space, breaking out of his trance once in a while to look down at me.

After a while. I said softly to him. "I'll be okay now. We can….continue if you'd like." Mr. Crepsley still seemed concerned if I was okay, but he merely shrugged and stood up, offering his hand to me. I stood up and we walked around the house. Eventually, we reached my room. I opened it, clearing the discussion of whether I wanted privacy about my room.

Surprisingly, it was just as it was before my parents died. Nothing was packed away. My James Bond posters were still hanging on the wall, my table was messy with lots of artworks and stationeries, it was all there.

"That is a lot of red." Mr. Crepsley said, breaking the silence as we surveyed the room. He was true, my blanket was red, my wall was a dark maroon red (Mum had said crimson red was a bit gory) and my table was stacked with red-keychains, stationeries, accessories….

When we were done, we went downstairs. "Let's go to the kitchen." I said, as I led the way. I opened up the fridge and brought out two cans of Coke. I twisted mine open and handed Mr. Crepsley a can. I joined him at the tale where he was sitting and thinking.

We stayed in the house for a few days, unsure of what Mr. Tiny had planned. At nights, Mr. Crepsley slept in my parents' room and I slept in mine. The fridge was well stocked, and I cooked a bit. Mr. Crepsley was immersed in the photo albums of my family and I when I was young. After he found a stack of albums in my dad's office and asked my permission to look at them, he's been spending his time looking through the albums.

In the evening on the third day, we got a surprise. We were both upstairs, and didn't hear the door open until my bedroom door was opened and I heard a familiar voice saying my name and pulling me into a hug.

It was my dad, a dark haired man with rectangular glasses. Technically, he was still wearing the sunglasses clip ons, but still. He was in a black polo shirt and cargos. He picked me up into a hug again. I felt tears trickle down my cheeks. "Oh, dad, I've missed you so much!" I cried in his arms. "I know, kiddo, I know. I'm sorry you couldn't come with us, but Uncle Larten treated you alright, didn't he?"

He let go of me and faced Mr. Crepsley. "So, bro, how's the last few days been?"

Mr. Crepsley was taken aback but managed to answer. "It has been fine. KayLi was good, but she missed you a lot." At this he glared at my dad, when my dad's back was turned. I wondered about it but didn't question.

Later, it turned out dad had gone on a business trip with mom and left me at home with my uncle, Uncle Larten. After a dinner of meatballs and spaghetti, Mr. Crepsley was leaning on my study table planning.  
" Well, it seems I am your uncle now." He gave me a wry smile before continuing.

"We still do not know what Mr. Tiny is planning, so I guess we should play by ear."

We discussed a bit more, and later Mr. Crepsley left. As he left the room, he gave me a final piece of advice.

"And KayLi, I do not mean any offense, but….you better not get so close to your parents. What I am trying to say is," he cleared his throat uncomfortably, :"Your father might be a pawn of Mr. Tiny's. He may not be the man you think he is. You must be wondering why I was glaring at your father just now. I apologize, but I could not bear to see Mr. Tiny just bring your father in. It may not be your Achilles heel, but it is definitely a weakness. Well," he looked at me solemnly, but with pain in his eyes, "Goodnight. Sleep well." And with that he walked to the guest room opposite my room.

Knowing his words were true, I stayed up in bed for a long time. Mr. Tiny might just do this sort of thing, but I couldn't bear thinking of my father as a traitor. If this was the case, I finally decided, then I would spend as much time as possible with him, saying things I never got to say.

You might notice I didn't add a title to the chapter. Well, to be truthful, my minds been racking up random words for the title, but in the end I just decided not to put it in. No one reads titles anyway. So, I'm home. I miss my dad…. But still, did the story have a twist to it? =D


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

It's been a week now since we've stepped through the portal. School was starting again. On my first day, I walked to school. I had learned a lot during my week back with my family. Apparently, Mr. Crepsley was not only my uncle, but my godfather as well. As I walked, I couldn't help thinking of the past week. It has been amazing seeing my family again, but something felt different…something I couldn't put my mind to. It wasn't really noticeable, and was probably just me feeling nostalgic or something from returning home, but I still had an uneasy feeling Mr. Tiny might have been behind it, whatever it was.

As I neared the school grounds, I felt butterflies in my stomach. This would be my first year in high school. Seafield High was the name of my high school. As I walked through the gates, I saw students all around. Most of them seemed to know each other, but there were quite a few I noticed, who was just milling around quietly, or standing at the sidelines, not knowing anybody. I went to the office to get my class schedule.

The office was a large, air conditioned room with a big, wooden circular table in the centre, sort of like the service counter at a mall. I walked up to a woman sitting behind the front of the table, who was typing furiously. "Um, excuse me…" I interjected. "I'm here for my class schedule…" The woman looked up from her typing. She was in her late 20-s, with dark brown hair tied back in a high ponytail. "Yes….may I have your name please?" she asked. Her eyes were a bright blue, and they were kind and welcoming. "Err…I'm KayLi. KayLi Powell. "I said. "Oh, yes, here it is. Welcome to Seafield High!" the woman smiled at me, after searching for a while and handing me a slip.

Before classes started, we had an orientation ceremony. The headmaster welcomed us, and gave a speech about general rules, student expectations and everything. At the end of it, our principal gestured to the projector behind her and said:" Now, let's sing the school song! Just follow along!"

When that was over, I went through my classes. I did meet a few people. One of them was a girl called Nicky, who I met in Math's class. She came in late, and most of the seats were taken by the time, so she asked if she could sit on the table on my left. And that's how we met. Another girl was an auburn hair girl with chocolate brown eyes called Maxine. During History class, she borrowed a pencil from me, and we got talking. And my classes passed by in a breeze.

When school was over, Mr. Crepsley was waiting. We had decided to go to the little café not far from the school to talk before going home. When there, I ordered for both of us. Mr. Crepsley wasn't accustomed to cakes and all the sweet things. He was used to bat broth, rum…all those age old food. I ordered two cups of tea, and two slices of chocolate cheesecake.

"It has been almost a week now, and we still do not know what Mr. Tiny intended in sending us here." Mr. Crepsley mused, frowning. "Have you noticed anything different?" I asked him. While I was at school, Mr. Crepsley was planning to lookout around my house and all the areas I used to go to, for if a sign would appear, we expected these areas. "No, nothing yet." Mr. Crepsley muttered, resting his chin on his hand. For all we know, the other competitors might or might not be back at their homes too. They might be in a place not unlike the one we left when we went through that portal."

Our tea and cakes arrived, and we ate, momentarily forgetting our troubles. I loved being home, but dad was working all day and only came home late in the evening. Most of my time was spent with Mr. Crepsley. I would show him around the town. He did go back to civilization every now and then, so he wasn't completely lost, but there were still certain things he never experienced before. I finished my cake and sipped my tea, thinking. Mr. Crepsley noticed. "What is it?" This time I rested my chin on the palm of my hand, staring into space. "Its just that…I wonder how Darius is doing. My mentor. How he must be coping." At this, Mr. Crepsley looked into his mug. "Yes….." he said softly, "sometimes I wonder how Darren is doing too…"

When we reached home, however, dad was home. He was sitting on his chair in front of the fireplace reading the newspaper. "Welcome back!" he greeted us. "So how was your first day of school?" he asked, as he lay down the newspaper to hug me. So I told him how it went. Afterwards, I was about to head up to my room when dad stopped me. "Wait, KayLi, I just remembered, a parcel arrived for you just now." I took it, examining it. Then I saw something. "Thanks dad!" I kissed his cheek and ran upstairs to open it. When I got into my room, I threw my bag to the side and jumped on the bed, where I stated unwrapping the package. "Why are you in such a hurry for?" Mr. Crepsley said from the doorway, where he just came in.

"This!" I thrust the package cover to him, where the stamp was a pair of green wellington boots. There was also a small signature at the bottom of the stamp, signed "Mr. Tiny". Even though Mr. Crepsley couldn't read, he could still recognize the signature. His eyes widened. "Open the parcel!" he commanded, serious now. He joined me on the bed as I ripped open the parcel.

**=D This is chapter 13! Oh yeah, I'm going to Australia for 2-3 weeks on holiday. So what do you think? **


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

In my dream, I was at a friend's party. I was talking to her, having fun. Then the scene changed. I was in a sort of closed room filled with murky water. Think Titanic. But there were two sides of the room where big boxes were floating. I was at one side of the room. With me were 3 other people. One was a man, in his mid-30's, wearing a green Peter Pan-ish hat. Another was a younger boy. But in my dream, I knew he was a younger Nick. Before he got sucked into the Games. The boy, Nick, looked about 7. The third person with me was a girl. I think I recognized her. If I was right, she was a girl from my English class.

I looked around the room, taking in the details. The water was dark and murky. It was hard to tell the depth of the water. On the other side of the room, I think I saw a figure. But the figure was motionless; I couldn't tell what he/she/it was doing. Then, the figure spoke.

"Hickory Dickory Dock,

The mouse ran up the clock,

The clock struck one-"

I didn't hear the rest because at that moment, a bell chimed loudly and I heard a little girl scream. Suddenly, I saw a head bob out of the water in the middle of the room, splashing wildly, screaming. I didn't know where the little girl came from, but the man with the green hat seemed to know her. With a yell, he jumped into the water and swam towards the girl. I jumped in too. (Hey, it was a dream, I could have done anything with no control)

What I saw when I plunged underwater was a bit of a shock, but I recovered quickly. It was really dark, but the scene I saw underwater was a sunken ship. In the distance, a whale swam past slowly. I began swimming quickly towards the man. No telling what else was underwater. Better to help him and be back at the boxes. Back at the boxes, the girl and Nick seemed to be watching the figure opposite us. I couldn't see well, but it seemed he was tinkering with something.

Up ahead, the man had already reached the little girl. From what I gathered, she was about 5, with ponytails. She was beginning to sink when the man reached her. I speeded up to meet them halfway. I helped carry her back to the boxes.

Time passed quicker in the dream. Just after we got back to the boxes, the figure on the other side of the room rhymed again.

" Tick Tock, tick tock

The mouse ran up the clock

Mr. Hynderpan you wrecked my plans

Be careful where you dock"

It was silent after that. In my dream, I knew Mr. Hynderpan was the man with the green hat. But then I woke up.

I woke up confused. Then I remembered it was a dream. And as I thought back to the dream, I began noticing more details. Like how familiar the room seemed. Or what the last rhyme meant. Or how the voice sounded suspiciously like…..Mr. Tiny's.

I went to my study table to write it down in my dream diary. I kept a dream diary because it sometimes gave me inspiration when I write essays for school. I wrote down what happened. I wrote down who I saw. I wrote down the rhyme. As I was keeping my diary away, I noticed a shamrock green envelope on the desk. I recalled back what happened a few hours ago.

The parcel had contained the envelope and a smaller box. Inside the box, was a miniature version of a ship. The envelope simple said- "To rush you on your way. –Mr. Tiny" We had wondered what it meant. But now I think I knew.

Sorry this ones kind of shorter, but I'll update more soon. Just really busy now. =/


	16. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

**Mr. Crepsley's P.O.V**

Last night, KayLi and I received a parcel from Mr. Tiny. There was a letter and a small figure of a ship inside. If I am right, KayLi said the letter was from Mr. Tiny, and it simply said:" To rush you on your way. –Mr. Tiny"

In the morning, KayLi told me about a dream she had gotten last night. I do not usually listen to dreams, but the dream she had may have been related to the parcel, so we decided not to pass it up. KayLi said that she would try to talk to that girl she saw in her dream. KayLi suspected Mr. Hynderpan had some relation to clocks or ships, as the rhyme had said:

" _Tick Tock, tick tock_

_The mouse ran up the clock_

_Mr. Hynderpan you wrecked my plans_

_Be careful where you dock"_

We decided to meet in the afternoon, when school was over.

A few hours later, I was sitting in that café where we usually met. A waitress came over and said:" Sir, would you like anything?" I told her I wanted a cup of tea. Soon after that, I spotted KayLi making her way towards the café. To my surprise, there was a girl following her. She had dark blonde hair put up with a pink hairband, and, unusually, purplish coloured eyes. When they got to where I was sitting, KayLi introduced me to Violet. I nodded at her. She seemed like a really shy girl. She was hugging her books tightly. From KayLi's description this morning, she sounded a lot like the girl KayLi saw in the dream.

KayLi sat down next to me. Violet seemed hesitant, but sat when KayLi persuaded her gently. I decided to be softer with this girl. The waitress came, bringing my cup of tea, and asked the girls what they would like. KayLi ordered a slice of cake, but Violet was just sitting there. "What about you, Violet?" I asked her, in the most kindly tone I could manage. The girl blushed beetroot red at being asked a question directly, and shook her head hurriedly before looking down again. When the waitress went away, KayLi gave me a look- _**the dream and Violet were connected to Mr. Tiny**_. I raised an eyebrow at her. _**How so?**_

She turned to Violet. "Violet, tell Mr. Crepsley about Mr. Hynderpan." She was quiet for a few moments. I was beginning to wonder if she heard KayLi and was about to ask the question when she replied. Still looking down, she started speaking. Her voice was soft, and she spoke quickly. " I know Mr. Hynderpan. He used to be the captain for a ship- The Cassandra. But he retired and now he owns a shop near the shore where he sells clocks and compasses." She lapsed into silence again.

Later, when the sun was setting, we bid farewell to Violet and took a walk to the shore. KayLi confided to me that she had a feeling Violet's role in this was not over yet. We walked pass rows of shops. Most of them were closing for the day. One shop, at the end of the road, was called " Hynderpan's Tick Tock Clocks" The bell rang when we walked in. The store looked like an antique shop. A man, presumedly Mr. Hynderpan, walked out through curtains from the back.

"May I help you?" he said. His voice, too, was soft, but had a certain tone that made you think twice about crossing this man.

"Yes," I replied. "We are looking for a man. You might know him. His name is Tiny, Desmond Tiny." As I said it, his eyes narrowed and through gritted teeth, he said :" Speak fast. What is your purpose here? How do you know Mr. Tiny? What do you want from me?"

I shared a glance with KayLi. I guess we should tell him, but gently. "Mr Hynderpan," KayLi started, "if you know Mr. Tiny, surely you know that he, ah, is, different? Well, recently, he set up this Game called the Destiny Games, purely for his own entertainment. Do you know about it?" Mr. Hynderpan walked around the counter and sighed. "Follow me." He said. He led us through the thick curtains to the back room, where he gestured for us to sit down on the sofa. " So what are you?" he said bluntly. "Um, we're vampires, sir." KayLi said.I watched him suspiciously. If he opened his mouth to scream, I would have to muffle it. It would not do if more people came to investigate the screaming. Luckily, Mr. Hynderpan seemed to have dealt with vampire before, at least. "I see. So tell me about this game."

Over the hour, we told him about Mr. Tiny and his plot. Then we told him about KayLi's dream. When KayLi got to the part about him jumping In to save the little girl, his eyes turned sad. "If only I could have saved her." He said under his breath, so softly that even with vampire hearing I could barely make it out. "Mr. Hynderpan," I interjected "Could you tell us what you have to do with Mr. Tiny?" He sat there quietly, pondering some things. After about a quarter of an hour, he said:" Come tomorrow, I will tell you about it. But first, there are things I have to gather. Come back tomorrow." And he went quiet, staring at the wall behind us.

"Okay, then, Mr. Hynderpan, see you tomorrow then." KayLi said, and she got up to leave. I stood up too. We walked out from behind the curtain and walked out. Behind us, the door closed with another ring.

**I, um, just realized. They're walking around In the afternoon. Oh well. Maybe it's a special world. Anyway, thanks for the reviews, guys. It really gave me support. =) Stay tuned!**


	17. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Last night, me and Mr. Crepsley had paid a visit to Mr. Hynderpan. He had deliberated on answering our questions, and in the end, he told us he would tell us tomorrow. So we left.

"What do you think? Can we trust him?" I asked Mr. Crepsley, as we walked along the shore.

"Well….." Mr. Crepsley looked at the sea, deep In thought. "I have seen people like him before. He has probably lost someone to Mr. Tiny, a loved one..that is why he might have been a bit hesitant on answering us."

The next day, after school, we headed straight to " Hynderpan's Tick Tock Clocks" Mr. Hynderpan was dusting some clocks when we arrived. He looked up as the doorbell rang as we opened the door. He cleared away his cleaning materials, and switched the store sign to "CLOSED" . Quietly, he motioned us into the back room.

He kept himself busy moving around. "Tea?" he offered us. We agreed, and he set down some teacups and a bowl of sugar lumps In front of us. Then, he sat down opposite us. When I had a closer look at him, I noticed he looked more ragged and pale. He also had shadows under his eyes. "Last night, you asked me about my relationship with Mr. Tiny. Well, Mr. Tiny took my daughter."

"It was 5 years ago. My daughter was just 4. She loved sailing. She would be my little sea hand. One day, we were recuperating at an inn when I got a knock on the bedroom door. I opened it to reveal a peculiar man. He wore really thick glasses, and donned a bright yellow suit and green wellington boots. He introduced himself as Desmond Tiny"

Mr. Hynderpan paused to take a sip of tea. He sat there for a while, sipping and staring into space, before he put down the cup and continued.

"Desmond invited me to lunch at the fish and chips store down the street. He asked me about my ship and the places I sail to. Then he told me about this island, the Isle of Nome, I think it was called. He told me I had to find this particular thing on that island, but I had to watch out for the island's inhabitants. He told me, as long as I did what he asked, he would reward me handsomely."

"I asked him to plot the coordinates of the island for me. 25° North, 71° West." He stopped and stared at us expectantly.

"I don't really get i-" I started to say, when Mr. Crepsley spoke up:" The Bermuda Triangle." I tried to rack my brains for all I knew of it. From what I remembered, it was this island with weird things happening. Ships who go near it get into storms, or their compasses malfunction weirdly. Planes crash. The point is, they're never discovered again. It was a mysterious island.

"What….did you say then?" Mr. Crepsley said in a tone I recognized. He knew something, but he didn't want to alert Mr. Hynderpan of what he knew. "Well, any old sailor knows of that place, and I was thinking about…my daughter… so I told him no, that he could find someone else to do it. He didn't take my rejection too lightly, though. He kept trying to get me to go there, for some reason. At that moment, Mandy came up to me. Mandy's my daughter. She showed me some pretty seashells she found. Mr. Tiny watched us for a while, I remember, then he stood up. "Are you sure you're going to reject my offer, Hynderpan?" "I'll pass." I told him firmly. He gave a little smile, and went away."

" The next morning…" Mr. Hynderpan started to choke up a little bit.. "Mandy was gone. On he—he-her b-bb-ed was a n-note fr-from Mr. T-T-Tiny." His sadness turned to anger then, and he pounded his fist on the table. The cups of tea rattled, and a bit spilled.

"Sorry." Mr. Hynderpan said to us, recomposing. He got up and rummaged around asset of drawers for a bit. "Here" he said, handing us a piece of paper. It was starting to yellow a bit around the edges, and it was slightly crumpled. It was the note Mr. Tiny left on Mandy's bed.

I read it out loud to Mr. Crespley.

"**As you might have found out, your daughter is missing from her bed. I took her. I will keep her until you agree to do the job for me. I will not reveal the item until you agree to the job. Till then, she will be mine. This offer will never expire. It is no use trying to trick me. **

**~D. Tiny** "

"I tried to save her on numerous occasions. I found Mr. Tiny's lair. He had it underneath a water treatment plant. But, it was no use. Because…..Mandy was his puppet. Mandy was being controlled by him, and my efforts were to no avail." Mr. Hynderpan said.

"Call him." Mr. Crepsley said quietly. "Agree to his offer."

"But-!" Mr. Hynderpan argued, but was cut off by Mr. Crepsley.

"Look, do you want your daughter back or not? From what you said, a simple rescue plan will not work. We have to go to the island, get him to make the trade with us first. Get him to hand us your daughter first. Then me and KayLi will distract him while you take your daughter and run. And we will help you on the Isle of Nome." Mr. Crepsley said. "I know how it feels like to care about someone and not have them with you, but if you do not do anything about it, your daughter will never be set free!" Mr. Crepsley was yelling now, pain in his eyes.

Stunned, Mr. Hynderpan nodded. I watched as Mr. Crepsley calmed down. "I am sorry." He said, looking down on the floor. "I got out of hand."

"But you convinced me. I'll do whatever it takes to save my daughter." Mr. Hynderpan looked at us, determination in his eyes.

We decided Mr. Hynderpan would go to Mr. Tiny alone, and convince him he was travelling alone. When the deal was made and the item revealed, Mr. Hynderpan would locate us and we would set sail for the island.

**End of Chapter 16. I was in a good mood tonight, so I wrote a chapter of the story. Happy Halloween! =)**


	18. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

*Beep beep*

I turned off the alarm clock. Last night, Mr. Hynderpan set off to Mr. Tiny's lair. If Mr. Tiny didn't sense anything suspicious, we would start gathering provisions and set sail the day after.

I got dressed and went downstairs to the dining room, where I made myself a bowl of cereal and some toast. Today was Saturday, and my family usually slept in. Sometime later, Mr. Crepsley walked in, smoothing down his unkempt hair. "Good morning." He said, yawning, as he started to make himself breakfast. "Morning, Mr. Crepsley!" I replied. "So, what time will we be meeting Mr. Hynderpan?"

"After breakfast. He is a sailor, so he will be up early." Mr. Crepsley sat down across from me. "Look, KayLi, I know you must have been surprised at my outburst yesterday, and I am sorry again about my outburst." He said, looking down on the table top. "It's okay, , I know how it must feel to feel that way. I felt the same way when my parents died too. Like, it was somehow my fault." Mr. Crepsley looked up then, looking pained, and he opened his mouth to reply something when the toast sprung up. He shook his head and slowly stood up to get the toast.

Later, we went off to find Mr. Hynderpan. He wasn't at the shop, though. We found him on the dock, carrying cargo on to a ship. We stood there in silence for a few minutes before he noticed us. "Ah, you're here. Meet my ship, 'The Amanda'. " It wasn't a particularly large ship, but it was magnificent. It was mostly white, but it had some cobalt blue stripes. The decks were clean, and everything seemed to be in order despite the long break from sailing Mr. Hynderpan took.

Mr. Crepsley and me helped Mr. Hyderpan to move the cargo. As we worked, Mr. Crepsley and Mr. Hynderpan discussed the coming trip. "How many weeks provision do you think we need?" Mr. Crepsley asked. Mr. Hynderpan replied that he contemplated this last night and we should need 2 weeks minimum, 5 weeks at most. "After all," he said, "The Isle should have some fruits that we could eat."We worked for a while before I asked:" Mr. Crepsley?" Mr. Crepsley was carrying a particularly large box then, so he set down the box before answering. "Yes?" "Well," I started. "I was wondering how come you know so much of sailing and islands." He laughed at that. "Well, KayLi, surely you did not think I stayed in Vampire Mountain for hundreds of years! I did my fair bit of travelling before Darren and I settled in Vampire Mountain. In fact, I had only settled a couple of years before Darius brought you to Vampire Mountain."

We took a break for lunch, and after that Mr. Hynderpan instructed me and Mr. Crepsley to go shop for some supplies. As I looked at the shopping list, I thanked the gods that being a half vampire had trained me not to be queasy of what I eat, as the sailing rations contained of salted meat and canned food mostly. " What will I tell my parents?" I asked Mr. Crepsley, as the thought struck me. They had seemed attentive, despite the fact Mr. Tiny "brought them back from the dead" as Mr. Crepsley had said.

"Hmmmm…..what if I bring you 'camping'? Your parents would not mind, plus they will know I will be looking after you." Mr. Crepsley replied. We shopped for the huge load of food, and dropped them at Mr. Hynderpans, as my parents would have been shocked if me and Mr. Crepsley had come home with more than a few weeks worth of food.

At dinnertime, I asked my parents for permission. "Mum, dad? Since the holidays are here, Uncle Larten had offered to take me camping. Can I go?" Mr. Crepsley looked up too. "Why, sure, honey, of course you can go!" My mum said. "You look after her now, Larten!" My dad winked at Mr. Crepsley. Mr. Crepsley laughed. "Of course, brother, I will look after her with my life."

The next few days passed with us getting ready for the voyage. Mum got stuff like bug spray and other typical things someone needed for a camping trip. Finally, the day of the voyage arrived.

We started at the break of dawn. Mr. Crepsley had told my parents that we would be taking a taxi to the camping spot, so we rented a taxi. "Bye mum, bye dad." I hugged my parents goodbye as Mr. Crepsley and the driver put our stuff in the trunk. This might be the last time I ever see my parents. Tears started welling up as I imagined losing them both again. "Don't worry, KayLi, you'll be back before you know it! Besides, Uncle Larten will look after you." My dad said, wiping my tears away and kissing me on top of my head. I managed to smile at them. " I love you!" I waved as I got into the taxi. The taxi pulled away, my parents both waving at the doorstep.

"It is always hard." Mr. Crepsley said next to me. "It never gets easier." When we reached the dock, Mr. Hynderpan was waiting by 'The Amanda'. "Ahoy there!" He yelled when he saw us. " Get on board!" Despite the fact we were sailing to a dangerous location, I think I detected some excitement in Mr. Hynderpan as he sailed his ship for the first time in a long time.

"Go to sleep, KayLi." Mr. Crepsley appeared behind me. He led me to one of the cabins, putting my bags on the floor of the cabin. " I'll wake you if something happens, I promise." I nodded, getting on to the bed. I was asleep almost immediately. As I fell into a slumber, I heard the soft click of the door as Mr. Crepsley quietly closed the door.

**Haha. Sorry. It'll pick up in the next chapter, I promise! **


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